The Mechanics of Adoption - “According to”

Ephesians 1:5

“…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,…”  

Sometimes, even a single word in the Scripture can be enlightening and instructive.  Jesus said that “not even the smallest part…would pass away” of the word of God.  One of the implications of that statement is that every single word is significant and needs to have proper attention paid to it.  This is the case in the instance of the word before us: “According to”.

The Greek word is a preposition that refers to one of two things, depending on the case of the noun it is used with.  In this instance it used with a noun in the accusative case and so takes the meaning “according to”, “corresponding to” or “with reference to”.  It sets for us the frame of reference, or the sphere in which the mechanism of adoption works.  What is it that prompted adoption?  How did it function or how did it know what to do and how to do it?  What is the standard by which it functions?  Is it arbitrary?  What causes it to “kick in” and become active in a person's life?

All of these questions have at least the beginning of their answers in the little word “according to” (a single Greek word). 

What is it that causes a man to be adopted by God?  Many would argue from a lot of different perspectives.  Some would maintain that it is the choice of man that determines it in the end.  God has a lot of good intentions and hopes for man, but He will not force Himself on anyone, and the adoption as sons ultimately depends on the choice of men as to whether (or not) it is effective in an individual's life.  God wants to save, and has done the work to make man “savable”; but the rest is up to men.  There is a huge portion of the church that thinks things along this line.

Some would argue that it is entirely arbitrary.  It is a kind of cosmic lot that God cast and that fell on some and not on others.  Certainly, we would not call those who would espouse this Christians in any conservative sense, but they are out there none the less.

Some would argue that all men are already the sons of God, having been adopted by God already and that all we need to do is to tell them of the good news of their state before God and that information will set them free and enrich their lives.  Once again, for most of us, these folks would be hard to see as Christians as well.

Still others would argue that it is a kind of syncretistic process.  God does some, and then man does the rest; or perhaps they would argue the reverse; that man does some, and then God does the rest.  The basic idea they would put forth is that it is a cooperative effort between God and man with the work of determining who is and who is not adopted a kind of cooperation between man and God.  There are many in the church who think in this fashion.

The curious thing is that there is clear revelation in the Bible about how this process works.  God has not left us without a witness to tell us of how this adoption process comes to be present in one person's life, and not in another.  We just don't particularly like the answer that it gives.

“According to” gives us the answer, clearly and unambiguously.  Adoption functions in people's lives “according to” or “with reference to” the good pleasure of the will of God.  It is not according to the will or man, nor is it according to the will of the flesh, or of the blood, but it is entirely according the good pleasure of the will of God.  We are reminded of the first chapter of the Gospel of John where we read similar words: “…12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God…”  Note that this says just what we have maintained: it is not according to the flesh, nor according to the will of man, nor is it even according to the bloodlines; but rather, is entirely a work of God that manifests itself in the choice of man.  It is “According to” the good pleasure of the will of God.